Cold Heart: Crystal Tears
by Ren Akimiya
Summary: In a fantasy world, lives a sorceress girl who had became one with her ability of forming snow and ice by her will. Due to this, she needed to flee from her home to the nearby abandoned castle and live there for a really long time. One day, a young male hedgehog pays a visit to the castle because of a lost bet. Here he meets with the girl and shows her the world isn't that cruel.
1. Chapter 1

In a fantasy world, on the far north, lies a small town, more like a village. Smoke coming out from chimneys and the scent of burning wood and fresh cooked meal are filling up the air while townspeople chatting out and inside buildings. Children are playing, throwing snowballs at each other, pretending that they are fighting in a heroic battle, protecting the royal family. Others are building snowmen or making snow angels.

Joy and happiness could be seen all over the settlement. No wonder why. It is the second half of December. These days were spent together with family and relatives in love.

Not far from the town, located in the mountains, lies an abandoned castle. Or maybe not so abandoned. In fact, a girl lived there. A young looking sorceress hedgehog girl. She had blue eyes, blue as the frozen water in a crystal clear pond. Her fur was pale pink as if the snow soaked in it and changed its color. The lips of hers were purplish like she was out in the cold for quite a long time. Except, she was not affected by the cold at all. Attesting it, when she exhaled air, steam did not come out from behind her lips, nor from her small, pretty nose.

The mysterious young lady was standing on the balcony of the highest tower. Behind her, stood a large golem, made from the mixture of ice and snow. It was standing idle right until the moment the girl turned back and walked to it.

"Thank you. Would you take me back now?" said the girl in a faint but definite voice.

The ice golem let out a semi loud sound of moaning and reached out its large palms to the mistress and held her close to the large body of snow-ice chunk that was the creature's body. Then walked to the door and stopped before it. It starred down into the massive gap below. You might ask how the owners of the castle walked up here. Well this tower obviously had stairs that let them up here. Furthermore this was an actual and used bedroom back when the owners were alive. What happened to the castle then, you ask. It got besieged couple hundred years ago and around half of it got destroyed. A rock or two from a catapult or a trebuchet and the entire room got destroyed along with the stairs.

It jumped down into the huge gap and within moments, they were on the bottom, inside the main building. It then released the girl and she dusted the snow off from her tattered clothes that she was wearing every time.

"Lucky that I'm not affected by the cold. I'd have frozen to death countless times over the years I have spent here." she sighed then began walking aimlessly while her monumental companion was mimicking her every move.

"The days of love, eh? Give me a break. I needed to flee here from the witch hunters back then. Then the townspeople started spreading rumors about me that aren't true." said the girl to the golem, like it understood what she was saying. But no, it did not.

She crossed her arms on her chest like and started sobbing silently. Then shivered like she felt cold. But in fact, this was the cold feeling of loneliness. And hopelessness.

"I…..I never hurt anyone."


	2. Chapter 2

In the town, a group of male hedgehogs in their early 20s were playing some kind of unknown card game, much like black jack in the local inn. They were laughing, drinking and eating a lot. Hearing from the chattering behind them the bet of the game was, if the guy with the blue fur wins, every other member of the gang must pay the food and drink for him. However if his opponent the one with the black fur and red stripes wins, he must spend one night in the abandoned castle.

The time came, and the players needed to reveal their cards.

"Hm…..looks like my cards are higher than yours, sonic. I'm sorry, but you lost." said the winner, who was called by the name Shadow.

"Man. That will be a pretty boring night. I mean there's nothing to do in a castle like that in the mountains. Don't you wanna stay there with me?" asked Sonic while chuckling silently.

"You won't be alone, if the legend is true." said the hedgehog with white fur.

"What do you mean, Silver?" asked Sonic.

"It says, a sorceress lives there who got cursed with the snow and ice. Two hundred years ago, the witch hunters were hunting down sorceresses and others who were involved with black magic as they said. Even the church supported them. Anyway, she needed to flee to the old castle in order to escape from them. A place that is isolated from every living being. I don't know if it's true or not, but sometimes, you can hear strange voices coming from the direction of the castle." said Silver.

"And you believe every shit that you hear from the crazy old people around the town. Wow, you sound more like a kid than an actual adult." said Shadow in a sarcastic voice.

"I never told I believe it, jerk." murmured Silver like he was trying to deny the fact, that he believe that the legend might be true.

They then payed the price of the stuff they have ordered to the owner of the inn, then put on their warm coat, scarf and gloves. After it they walked out and scattered around the town, buying wood and some food for Sonic, so he will not freeze in the abandoned castle during the night. Two hours before sunset, the three friends met up with each other in the middle of town then started their journey to the place where Sonic needed to stay.


	3. Chapter 3

As they were walking on the thick white layer beneath their feet, the wind started getting stronger but not enough to call it a gale. It carried small fragment of ice that made the boys feel their faces has been cut up by each and every movement of air. Ignoring the slight pain, they ventured closer and closer to the building.

When the castle came within sight, Shadow and Silver gave their bags that they were carrying to Sonic.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You see, you can pay me something and you don't need to stay here!" shouted Shadow because the wind drowned his voice.

"No way. If we came this far, I'll do it." answered Sonic and walked in the castle.

Shadows and Silver looked at each other in confusion for about half a minute then went back to town.

The blue hedgehog looked around in the enormously huge hall, which was surprisingly untouched.

"Two hundred years old sorceress girl, huh? What a huge bullshit." he thought then continued his way inside the building. He decided to have a look around before he sets up the campfire and makes some cooked meal for himself, since his belly started rumbling.


	4. Chapter 4

The golem that was with the sorceress girl started moaning softly, indicating its master that something is not okay.

"Hush….I can feel it too. Let me take care of this, okay?" she said calmly and began going to the way where she felt the intruder.

When finding him, she pressed herself against the wall and formed a floating eye from snow that functioned as a third eye for her. She scouted the hallway where Sonic was started thinking

"Just a boy. Probably would be better to talk to him before I attacking." she then began chanting silently and she became snow. She transported herself to the other end with the breeze, coming from the gaps on the castle's wall. The mistress then took up her normal shape again somewhere behind Sonic and started walking to him calmly.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked.

Sonic let out a faint scream and turned around immediately. It is not usual to hear a voice behind your back in a supposedly abandoned castle. As he turned back, the source of the voice came into his vision. He saw the sorceress girl, dressed in her old and tattered clothes, looking at him with a mixed expression on her face. Like she was trying her best to look serious, but her eyes showed joy. She indeed felt joy due to the young make hedgehog's arrival. The golem and the other snow beings that she created were lack of independent mind and they were not a pretty good company after all. Answering your every sentence with growls, moans and other animalistic sounds.

The young hedgehog stood there in a shock by the sight in front of him. The voice's source was a girl. A fairly odd looking, but overall pretty girl. He was just standing there looking deep into her ice blue eyes like looking into some kind of magnificent crystal void. Almost like he was under some paralyzing magic.

"I said who are you and what are you doing here?!" repeated the question on a more serious tone.

"I um…I'm Sonic. Nice to meet you".

"And what are you doing here?" asked the sorceress girl.

"I lost a game with one of my friends and I need to stay here for a day." answered Sonic.

The girl sighed, turned around and started walking away slowly. Sonic reached out his hand towards her with a curious expression.

"Can I ask your name?" asked Sonic.

She turned her head back and said:

"I go by many names. The witch, the sorceress of snow and ice, the cursed girl…..you can call me Amy. That's the name I chose if someone asks for it."

She then turned at the end of the hallway and Sonic lost her sight.

"Amy. It's really a beautiful name. It fits her too. Is she really that girl from the legend? She looked so innocent. Interesting…." he thought and went after her, but as he turned, Amy was not there. He thought that is impossible for anyone to move that fast. She was there a moment ago. Was it just an illusion?


	5. Chapter 5

Sonic was running around in the castle trying to find the cute sorceress girl, Amy. He wanted to know more. Know more about who she is and what happened to her. It is not an everyday sight that he meets a girl like her.

He found her in the library. Reading some kind of magic guide book, he thought. As he ventured further in the room, towards the snow mistress, a giant golem appeared in front of the boy and roared. It was not happy seeing the stranger going to her creator. The young hedgehog's heart quickly got filled up with fear, but curiousness overcame his fear in no time. He decided to face with the enormous monster, no matter what. Although he did not know how to attack it. He did not have any type of weapon that could damage it. Sonic kept on walking towards the golem. It raised the mass snow chunk that was its hand and swung it towards the brave youngster. Due to its weight, the incoming attack was slow enough for young hedgehog to dodge it by jumping up high above the chunk.

"Lucky that I am a fit guy. That massive thing could have easily smash me to death" he thought.

The giant fist hit the wall with a loud explosion-like sound that snapped Amy back to the real world. She has not just been reading, but performing some kind of magic trick that sent her into another world. She immediately turned to the golem, reached out her hand and said:

"Halt! The boy does not mean threat to our lives in any way. I order you not to harm him or else you will suffer the consequences!"

The monster let out a quiet humming and then turned back to snow. Amy indicated the stunned hedgehog to come to her. He did as she told him to. She gave him a somewhat angry expression.

"What were you doing?! You could get yourself killed!" she said.

"I just wanted to see you. I have never thought that you have bodyguards too." explained Sonic his actions.

She then made a chair out from the snow with her magic and pointed at it. Sonic sat down on the chair and waited for Amy to talk to him. The pale girl sat down on the chair opposite of Sonic's. She sighed and said:

"Well, since you're this stubborn then okay. If you want to know more about me, then ask."

Sonic's eyes opened slightly wider, like a child's who just got the present of his or her life from parents.

"Okay, first. Are the legends about you, true?" he asked.

"Only that I'm an old hag. But as you can see, my body hasn't aged at all." she answered.

"What happened?"

"Excuse me?" Amy looked at Sonic in confusion.

"You were an ordinal girl before I suppose. Something must had happened in the past that made you look like this. If I'm true, I would like to know that as well." explained himself Sonic.

Amy looked down and placed her fist under her chin, resting the head on it. He will be the first person in centuries who she tells the truth about what happened to her. The truth that no one has ever spoke of. Maybe she could finally release the pain, the misery, the loneliness and the sorrow that was piled in her over the years she have spent among the ruins of the castle. She then began telling her story.


	6. Chapter 6

It was two centuries ago. I was around fifteen years old. I have lost my parents years ago and a woman, probably in her 30s found me and gave me a home and a reason to live. She became my master, the old witch of the North. My master was a slim woman with blue eyes and incredibly long, blonde hair. She could be an elf judging by long ears. I mean hedgehogs don't have long ears, so she could only be an elf. Her name was Ingrid. She said her parents gave her this name because she was a beautiful child. Anyway she told me that when she found me she had seen her younger self in me. Also told me that I was a real beauty. She was stunned just by looking at me. It would be such a waste to leave me to the wolves or the bandits to sell me as a slave, she said. And that she caught an infection in her childhood that made her incapable of having children. She could not even find a suitable partner for herself, but I never missed a dad in my life. Up until the day I turned eighteen, I only studied and helped her out around the house. I did not even realized that studying became a somewhat hobby for me.

Studying sorcery was so much fun, you see. Doing the all the magnificent magical stuff in real was just so exciting. I also have read a lot of novels too. Like I became addicted to them, but only when I turned eighteen and left to the nearby village. Yes, I left from my most precious person in my life. The young bird leaves its nest as they say. Oh, and your hometown was a village back then before you get confused. I came to the town to open a clinic and help people with my healing magic. I started helping on people for a really fair amount of non-official prize. But of course I received other types of presents from who could not pay for the medical attention. I could not just leave a person who needs help. Over the years, the town started to love me. Especially from the day when I stopped the Black Death, the Grate Plague in town. They brought the infected in the clinic and I cured them in a day. After that people started to send their daughters to me in order to learn and become healers like me. That is because girls have a stronger connection with magic and the spiritual world than boys. Boys are more…..realist or something.

Months went by and one day, because of an accident during one of my experiences when I tried making a potion that stops people from freezing, I changed. The folks in the village looked at me with a different expression but they slowly got used to it.

And later, the darkness found its way into my life. In the center of the world, a new church was formed that immediately grew strong. A church that denied sorcery and other magical stuff. They called them blasphemy and started to kill the ones who were practiced sorcery. We, sorceresses and magicians became prey to witch hunters and inquisitors alike fast since the church gave money and absolution from under every sin, they committed and will commit. Furthermore, the ones who helped us became target too. Towns got burned and slaughtered down because they did not wanted to give out their loved ones or the ones who saved their lives.

They arrived to the north in almost no time. Some sorceresses gave themselves up without resistance and denied their disciplines in order to protect them from the men of the church. They got burned, broken in wheels, or hanged by the soldiers of the church. I visited my master by the time they reached the village where I was working. The aggressive visitors wanted to villagers to give me out to them so they can have some fun with me but they could not since I only told them that I will be off for some days. When I came back the village was destroyed and most people were slaughtered because the soldiers did not believe them. It was a horrible sight. The cries of mothers who lost their children and wives. They echoed all over the place and in my ears. I can still hear them in my sleep. My god, those cries made me shiver and almost broke out in tears. It was a horrible sight. I tried to comfort the survivors but they blamed me for what happened to them. In some ways, they were true. If I never came to their village, those horrors might not had happened. But that was not true. Not at all.

They made me flee to the old castle and I have been living here ever since.

* * *

 **I'm terribly sorry that I'm late with this chapter, but I got hospitalized lately because of a lung accident and I couldn't concentrate on writing because of the constant cries of the babies around me. So it's here and more is on the way. But I need your patience in order to make them as good as I can**

 **Thank you for your attention.**

 **Jynx**


	7. Chapter 7

"So that's what happened to me" sighed Amy and gave a somewhat regretful and sad face to Sonic. Like she was still thinking that she is the one to blame for what happened back then. But no, the whole incident, the unimaginable pain, the sorrow was the church's and the witch hunters' fault. In the same time if only she could have sensed the danger somehow, maybe she would be able to protect the people who loved her.

Sonic looked at her with a serious expression and said:

"You see, the inquisition is already over and the church's power got reduced drastically. You could at least come back to town with me and see that they can forgive you. Those who made you flee are long dead anyway"

He rubbed his eyes and yawned. The girl indeed told her story for a long time. An hour or two probably. Amy got up from her comfortable chair that looked like a tattered arm chair, although it was made out of snow and walked closer to the young male hedgehog.

"You look tired Sonic. Follow me, I show you a room where you can sleep" she said then walked to the doors. Sonic got up from his chair and went after her. They walked through some ridiculously long hallways decorated with statues with missing parts such as limbs or minor stone parts. They got damaged during the siege and over the years. They also climbed some stairs. Around two because one is half damaged and you cannot proceed further.

When they arrived to the room where Sonic could get some rest until morning, Amy opened the door. The room was surprisingly clean and warmer than the outside. Unlike the other room and places in the enormous castle this was not touched at all. It could be the maids' room since it was not really that decorated and it was small. It had a dusty old wardrobe with a medieval design, since we are in a fantasy world and a small bed fit for one person only. Two or more people would get uncomfortable in it and will not be able to sleep.

"It's the only room that wasn't damaged over the siege. Probably because it's in the other end of the castle where rocks and bullets cannot reach. Plus it'll be warm if I put a bigger candle for you." said Amy and took out a box of matches and lit the candle she grabbed from a table while they were walking to the room.

Sonic put down his stuff at the end of the bed and sat down on it while looking around in the semi dark room. Looks like a single candle is not enough to light the entire room. He sighed, releasing a thinner layer of steam from his mouth compared the ones in the other rooms of the castle and turned his head towards the pretty sorceress girl, Amy.

"Tomorrow, you come with me to town and I make you see the people are able to forgive you. No objections." said Sonic on a serious tone.

"Fine. You won't get off of me otherwise. I really missing some fun anyway" said Amy with a faint smile on her face.

Sonic then indicated Amy to come closer to him and when she did, he cuddled her down on the bed next to her. The girl, eyes widened asked:

"What the hell are you doing?"

"You have spent so many times alone. I think it'll be good for you if you sleep with me just to feel you're not alone anymore. If you don't want to, then just leave." said Sonic.

Amy felt a warm feeling spreading all over her body, like the ice cold heart of her started beating again. She felt a bit embarrassed since he never slept with a man before. Thought came into her mind like:

"This is almost like in one of my romantic novels that I have read lately. The boy gives a new hope to the broken girl then they fell in love with each other and they live happily ever after. But that was just a story, right. A thing that can entertain people. There's no chance for it to happen in real life. Anyway, I go with Sonic tomorrow."

She then fell asleep feeling safe in the young male hedgehog's arms.

* * *

 **A new dark fantasy story is on the way. The reader will be placed into Amy's point of view. Based on the worldwide manga and anime hit Berserk and the popular game franchise, Dark Souls.**


	8. Chapter 8

Next day, Amy woke up first and walked out from the room while Sonic was still sleeping and summoned the golem of hers then ordered it to bring her up to the place where she likes to relax and think. Meaning to take her up to the highest tower of the castle, where she was watching the surroundings in the beginning of our story. As she closed her eyes she saw the scenes of burning villages while the head of the church was giving speech to the gathering troops below the balcony where he was standing. Giving speech to the inquisitors and witch hunters, cheering them shedding the blood of the heretics all over the known world. She was seeing the various executions while hearing choirs chanting Gregorian songs. Choir with their faces hid under the shadow of their hoods. She saw them burning on bonfires and other executional methods that are used especially on heretics. Then the whole image was consumed by fire.

She opened her eyes slowly and they became wet from the visions. Like she was there and the flames burned her eyes. Amy sat down in seiza closed her eyes again and sighed. The girl thought:

"This haunting images again. Maybe sorceresses have some kind of telepathy and that's why because I see these horrific images."

Her chest were moving steadily while she stabilized her breathing and the golem was right behind her, watching her without any expression on its face. It seems Amy could not give it complicated emotion. Only fear, anger, joy and sadness. It was watching as the morning breeze was playing with its master's long straight and soft hair. A small tear left her eye and fell down on her lap, but before it froze into a crystal while falling. It shattered into tiny little shard on the stone under Amy.

The sorceress girl sat up slowly and opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around her waist and was smiling. Smiling deep from her heart. Last night, when Sonic made her to sleep with him he felt warmth spreading in all over her body, melting up her whole existence. Her heart started beating rapidly and her body started getting warmer with each and every beat. She felt alive again. She thought following Sonic back to town will be a good choice. She asked the golem to bring her back down to meet up with the young male hedgehog.

"Hey Amy. Where have you been?" asked Sonic while waving to the sorceress girl. Amy walked up to him and smiled.

"Just enjoying the morning breeze in the tower. Shall we go now?" said Amy. Sonic let out a faint smile then opened the huge door leading out from the mass, destroyed structure that served as a home for the girl for two hundred years. And now, on this day she leaves this place to enjoy freedom without being afraid of the inquisitors or the witch hunters again. Maybe this will be the day when she will be finally accepted.

She have never thought that it would be possible for her to ever step outside to the light. She was lost in pure darkness, not be seen by anyone. But on that day, this boy came who saw her and decided to bring her out from the darkness and show her the light once again. On that day, her life changed drastically.

By the crack of dawn, the light snowstorm had stopped and the sky became clear. The sun was shining making the snow shine and the boy and the sorceress began their journey back to Sonic's hometown. To the place where Amy was chased away from. On their way to town, they did not bump into any obstacles like when Sonic and his friends. Maybe because there is no snowstorm that could block their vision. The journey lasted for two hours.

By the time they arrived to town it already woke up. Stores are opened and people came and go on the streets. Because of this only on the tops of certain buildings had snow on them, such as the wooden rooves of houses and on top of street lamps and stands. In just one day, the town prepared for the upcoming festival. On this annual festival, they build stands where they sell hand-made gifts usually made from wood or other traditional material. They also sell homemade foods like gingerbread and fruitcake. Celtic music echoed among the walls of the houses and the chattering of townspeople and tradesmen. The scent of mulled wine filled the air. The cold breeze was playing gently with the snow, rocking the falling flakes back and forth like a mother does with her child.

At first sight, Amy was amazed how much her home had changed over the two hundred years of isolation. She even stopped for a moment to admire the sight of the lively and magnificently decorated town. But she needed to snap back into reality fast in order not to get hit by a cart or a horse. As they were walking away from the crowded streets, they ended up at a crystal clear and warm stream that melted the untouched snow in a small radius. Amy and Sonic saw a small bridge that overarched the stream and provided a beautiful view on the water. This place is the gathering place of couples who want to spend some time with each other in a fascinating and quiet place. The sorceress girl, while watching the stream, she thought about the dear memories that she almost forgot. Memories about friendship, when she and her friends were talking about fashion, boys and their future. All those plans and expectations are nothing more than ashes now. Nothing more, nothing less. She finally decided to start fresh. To leave the past behind and to live a happy life, but still not forget her friends and the heroes that sacrificed themselves to protect her. She closed her eyes and a teardrop fell from her eye and into the water.

"Everyone. Thank you." she murmured quietly, Sonic could barely hear it.

"Sorry?" Sonic asked looking a bit confused.

"Nothing. I want to thank you for bringing me back. I feel myself alive again" she smiled then went back taking pleasure in watching the calm stream.


	9. Chapter 9

From the bridge and the warm stream, Sonic and Amy went back to the more crowded part of the town to grab some food and maybe something to drink too. Sonic bought some cookies and mulled wine. The girl wrapped around her palms around the cup. She took a sip and it started warming up her body from the inside. The strange beverage tasted somewhat like mild grape flavored tea, rather than actual wine. Maybe because of the various spices that people mixed into it while it was brewing to make it more like a much more independent drink.

"Tasty. I can't believe that this thing was wine before." said Amy with a smile on her face. She started sipping from the cup more intensively not caring about that it burned her tongue a bit. Looks like she has never tasted such drink before. She was like a small child who is discovering the world around her. The world changed so much under the two hundred years, she thought. She also took some bites from the gingerbread that Sonic bought for her. Gingerbread existed when she was young too so this was not a new discovery for her. Although, she always loved the taste of gingerbread.

"We'll have a dinner later at my place. Until then shall we visit some of my friends?" asked Sonic. Amy nodded and the young hedgehog grabbed her hand then lead her to the place where he and his friends always hang out. To the old inn from the beginning of the story. Going across the most crowded place in the town, the town center where the fair was taking place, they went to the outer skirt of the town, which was less crowded. In fact, just a very few people were on the streets.

The wooden door was creaking as it opened and a thick smell of spices and alcohol hit their noses. They proceeded further into the noisy inn and Sonic lead Amy to the table where the two other youngsters sat, playing some kind of game again. Probably Blackjack again. The sorceress girl was nervous because she is not really comfortable with other people than Sonic. Furthermore, she was a bit afraid how they would react if they saw a figure from a legend in front of their bare eyes. Conquering her fears in seconds, she exhaled while the young male hedgehog was pulling her to a table by the hands gently.

"Hey guys." shouted Sonic and the two hedgehogs boys turned their head towards the source of the sound.

"Who's that girl with you Sonic?!" Shadow and Silver asked Sonic at the exact same time, with a noticeable surprised tone in their voice. He looked at Amy and a question could be read from his eyes:

"Can I tell them?"

"Not now. Maybe later" she whispered to the boy's ear softly.

They sat down to the table and a waitress came to the newly arrived couple asking them what they would like to order. Sonic ordered something to drink since they are going to eat at his house. Amy asked for hot chocolate. The woman wrote it down on a paper and left. While the boys were chatting, the sorceress girl was admiring the beautifully dancing blaze in the fireplace. She watched as the flames turned the wood into a chunk of ash and coal with a crackling sound. Suddenly he got interrupted by the boys.

"Can we ask for your name?" asked Silver, looking at the girl with wide eyes.

"My name's Amy" she answered.

"I can't recognize you. Are you new in town?" asked Shadow.

"Y…Yes. I came here because this town is so magnificent during this time. It's so lively." said Amy and was a bit nervous. "I live in a town to the south from here"

Sonic nodded in agreement then Silver and Shadow remained silent for a few minutes, probably thinking about what to ask from the sorceress girl. While looking at her, they noticed that she slightly looked like a frozen corpse. Pale, a bit blueish skin, pallid pink fur and red color under her eye, like piled up blood shards.

"You look strange, Amy. Are you feeling okay?" asked Silver worried about her condition.

"Yes. You probably noticed my look. An illness what I have caught in my childhood deformed my look into this." explained it Amy. It's strange because Silver was learning to be a doctor and so far, he had not come across such illness in the books he read. This look of Amy only applied to a frozen corpse. But he shrugged it off and suggested to go back playing Blackjack and asked Amy if she wanted to join the game. She hesitated first because she did not know how to play such game, because she never liked gambling but for the sake of fun she decided to try it once. And who knows, maybe she will get some money from this little game. Sonic explained the rules and the worth of each cards. The sorceress girl memories everything immediately and the game began.

Sonic, because he did not take part in the game, he took the role of the dealer. He shuffled the cards and gave everyone two cards. The player looked at their cards and counted the value of them. Shadow fifteen, Silver thirteen and Amy ten. The hedgehog with black fur decided not to ask for a third card. Silver and Amy asked for a third card. Silver got a King and his cards worth thirty three so his cards became higher than the maximum so he lost. Amy however, next to the cards, worth ten, got an Ace and combining those numbers, she got twenty one meaning a blackjack and won the first round.

"Wow! A blackjack for the first time. Beginner's luck I see." said Shadow smirking in defeat.

"Here's your hot chocolate, miss" the waitress appeared from almost nowhere and delivered the cup of hot chocolate and the drink for Sonic then left with smile on her face.

"Hehe. I think I am lucky." chuckled Amy while collecting her prize. They played for another hour then got bored of it. Of course, the main heroine of the story, Amy won the most rounds.

"Ugh….I'm bored. Let's get out of here and do something else." suggested Shadow while stretching his numb limbs. Everyone agreed but they did not know where to go or what to do. The sorceress girl then remembered, she saw a sign earlier about a figure skating competition and she suggested to go there. She even brought up entering the competition. The guys looked at each other in confusion but for the sake of their new friend, they said yes and after paying for the stuff they ordered, the gang left to the place where the figure skating competition going to take place.


	10. Chapter 10

Much people were gathering around a seemingly man-made skating-rink when our heroes arrived. Amy was carrying a pair of skates that Sonic gave to her. It was a bit tattered due to its age and somehow fit the girl perfectly. She did not care about its age or how it looked. She only care about that it was a gift from her precious friend Sonic who did so much for her already that she would not be able to pay back. He brought her back to the world from the isolation she had to be in for centuries.

Sonic wrote her on the list of the competitors, but he came across with an obstacle. What music should she dance to? He scratched his head in confusion and indicated the one who was responsible for the competition to wait and he brought Amy there. The girl did not have a specific music to dance to so she asked for a suggestion or to choose from the available ones. She rolled her eyes over the available songs and she spotted one that would fit the choreography perfectly. The song is called 'In Regards to Love: Agape'. Maybe with this program she will be able to express her feelings for Sonic. If not love, then her gratitude. The young hedgehog boy also gave her some flexible clothes that would her during her performance. She was the last competitor so she had plenty of time, so she changed to the clothes that were given to her and put on her skates too. When she got back, one performance was already begun. The music was live, performed by classic musicians on stage. Because of this, the music was not exactly the same the participants were trained with, so they needed to listen to the tunes carefully while carrying out such moves as jumping a Lutz, Rittberger or a Salchow. She watched them carefully and she was amazed by the performances. She was also a little bit afraid since she is not a professional figure skater. It was some sort of hobby of her and she learned the moves from books in the castle. She thought first it was nearly impossible to get a rank on the podium against professionals. The sorceress girl was shivering in confusion. What if she screws up the show? The whole town would laugh at her and how she screwed up her big moment. Sonic came to her and smiled:

"Good luck Amy." he said in a cheerful voice. His voice filled Amy with warmth and confidence. Now she was sure she can do it. She is going to perform with her best knowledge.

The moment finally came when it her turn. She stretched her limbs and she stepped on the slippery, already scratched surface. Amy slid elegantly to the center of the ice and looked down on cold ice, panting heavily because of the nervousness. It made her stomach hurt a bit.

"Calm down Amy. You need to calm down somehow." she thought. She looked up and looked at Sonic. He was still smiling at her.

"I know. I need to concentrate on the music and close out the world. Just concentrate on the performance Amy. You can do this." she said to herself inside her head. The band got the sheet of 'Agape' then started playing the music.

The music started silent, then slowly became louder thought not too loud. They did not want to ruin the message of the music. It really reflected unconditional love. Infinite, self-sacrificing, uncalculated. Someone who has not experienced such feelings, yet. Reluctant. It was like when two people fell in love with each other and was falling even deeper in the pink abyss where only the two of them exist. A beautiful song that fit perfectly Amy's feelings. She started her program slow and elegantly. Skating and turning elegantly as the different tunes came in. Around the first quarter of the program, she jumped a triple Axel. She jumped up and spin mid-air three times then hitting the ice with the blades of the skate. After that, she began spinning then slowly crouching with her right leg stretched in front of her. Then right after standing up, she did a half spin while burying her face into her face into her hands like she was crying but as she started normal skating again she took it away. The audience was looking at the strange sorceress girl, seemingly amazed by the performance. Around the half, she jumped a quadruple followed by a triple toe loop. No amateur did something like that before. Even professional figure skaters think it twice pulling out such a trick during the programs. The rate of screwing up a trick like this is fairly high especially around the second half. Her feet started hurt since she never did such an intense way of skating before. The pain was almost unbearable and she needed to exit from the quadruple toe loop towards the end of the program. As the music came to the end and most of the instruments stopped playing, Amy went down crouching again to do a combination spin.

"My feet hurts like hell. It feels like I'm going to lose my balance any time. But I can't quit now. One last trick." she thought while grinding her teeth to endure the pain. At the very end she stopped and raised her hands up like she was praying and were looking up while the remaining instruments were faded out.

The audience was speechless. They only clapped their hands to show their amazement to the sorceress girl. Suddenly, Amy felt something that she only felt centuries ago. Acknowledgment. It filled her with joy and was smiling happily while bowing and waving her hands to the people around. Her face turned red both from exhaustion and surprise. She started skating towards the entrance of the skating rink. There, Sonic was waiting for him, and a bit of a confusion could be seen in his eyes. Did he catch Amy's message with this little program?

Amy sat down and took off the pair of skates and her feet were red and somewhere purplish mixed with some black. She could barely move them and Sonic saw that from her eyes it hurt her much. He helped her put on the shoes and they waited for the others' show.


	11. Chapter 11

"Oi, you didn't need to hurt yourself." Sonic said in a little bit confused tone. He did not know what to say. He wanted to rebuke her for being so careless but wanted to be eulogistic in the same time. Amy just smiled and looked at the others' performances in amazement.

"Wow, they're doing so much better than me." she said with a said tone in her voice. She became even sadder seeing that the other competitors did not make a mistake and executed every jump and turn perfectly. They are so good, she thought.

"Don't be so sad. You did an excellent job on the ice. Executing such moves without practicing it for years. That's more than outstanding by itself." Sonic said. Amy was blushing while taking small looks at Sonic's face.

"Thank you." she said

Not much later, Shadow and Silver walked to Amy and Sonic. They were smiling in amazement. The youngsters even shook hands with her. Honestly, they did not know what to do.

"Wow, this was amazing, Amy. I'm really stunned by your program. Where did you learn those moves?" asked Silver excited.

"W…well I learnt them by myself. I memorized everything from watching pros" said Amy reluctantly, trying to think up something believable. She did not want to make them to catch the slightest suspicion of lying. Though saying those words reluctantly, would have been enough to blow her cover to the Moon, since Silver and Shadow was not that dumb.

"Hm….you have talent then. Much talent. These moves are not easy. I tried it before and failed on the first try." chuckled Shadow. He just remembered his first try of jumping a Lutz, but when he tried in he had tripped in his own leg and fell on his face. Sonic and Silver had went to help him while chuckling.

They then sat down waiting for the results of the competition. Amy finished on the 3rd place. She jumped up and cried out in happiness, then began jumping like a cheerleader. They then went to Sonic's house to have dinner.

Somewhere far in the center of the known world, in a place called the Vatican, a man dressed in long coat and head was hidden in the shadow of a big hood was walking. It looked like he was in a hurry to see someone. The man even bumped into the walking peasants dressed in white ornate clothes with a huge crimson hat prevented the sun shining on their faces. They looked so noble as they walked across the square chatting among each other. The mysterious figure rushed across the square with mosaic on the floor about a story from the Holy Book of the Religion. It was about the creation of all living on the world made up from small colorful rocks that was guarded by angel looking statues. They were probably archangel from the pages of the Holy Book as well. The person entered an enormous ornate building through a large gate and in the distance, there was a person sitting on something that looked like a throne. This is because when the building was build, the leader of the religion called the pope had more power and ascendancy than the king himself.

The pope was dressed in a long white cassock and white linen rochet. Around the pope's neck is hung the symbol of the religion on a gold and white cord or suspended by a long, gold chain. On his head was a triregnum or a tiara for short. He was enveloped by colored light, coming from the direction of a colorful mosaic window making him look more majestic than he already was. The mysterious figure took off the creepy hood revealing the person's face. The head was completely shaved, so he was some sort of monk. His clothes and feet was dirty from the long journey. The man was looking towards the pope with a serious look on his face, trying to hide his anxiety and started walking forward. It took him a couple of minutes to reach the throne where the highest authority of the religion was sitting, looking at the scroll in the monk's hand curiously.

"I welcome thee, traveler. What did you brought with you?" the pope said, who was surprisingly younger than the predecessors of him. He was in his early thirties which was not a good choice for a pope since a person this young does not have the experience to lead a religion. It seemed they had no other choice back then when the previous pope passed away.

"I brought interesting information for his excellency. Looks like people of the Church found a sorceress in the far north." the monk said with a low pitched voice.

"You know that the Vatican stopped hunting down who were practicing witchcraft over the decade. We lost control over the nations' kings. Why would I be interested in a case where we turn the nations against us?" the pope asked. The monk smirked and walked up to the pope and whispered something in his ear.

"So you have a plan too? And who is this man you are talking about?" the pope asked

"He was an inquisitor back, during the Hunt. We could ask him to get the sorceress and bring her here so we can use her as a catalyst to make fortune. We shall hire that mad man with differently printed gold coins" the monk answered.

"Not a bad idea. I will write a letter to the treasurer to take care of that matter"

Back to the calm town in the north Amy and Sonic accompanied Shadow and Silver home around eleven in the evening. They then began walking home slowly but Sonic had the idea going somewhere secret. To a place where he brought his previous girlfriends, but of course he did not tell this to Amy. She agreed then they walked to a place not far from the town.


	12. Chapter 12

The 'couple' went up to a park that were on higher ground than the town itself. It was a pretty man-made park with a couple of benches and with cobblestone paths which lead to a lake where young men usually confess to their beloved women. Sonic and Amy were walking towards the small lake and were looking at the trees and the virgin snow that were painted grayish in the dark. During this late, there were almost nobody there, maybe one or two people who were just going through the place since this is the fastest way to the nearby theatre that was pretty popular among the townspeople. Amy's heart was beating faster and was trying her beast not to go all red, while Sonic was calm. She never was in a situation like this before and reading from Sonic's eyes, he was. The girl was wondering how many girls he had brought here to tell them he wanted to go out with them. Five or ten? She put her hand above her heart and was muttering to herself:

"Quiet my heart. He might hear it."

Sonic looked at her a bit confused.

"What would I hear?" he asked. Amy went all red and turned away thinking about a quick saving. Maybe changing the topic will be a really good idea. But what can she talk about? She could not come up with anything useful, cursing at herself in her mind. How could someone be so idiotic like her? She almost exposed her feelings towards a boy that she barely know. This is absurd. She thought about taking it slow. This is just a walk anyway. A walk alone with the boy she had feelings for. Because he changed her life on the very day he came to her. He was caring and did not want the sorceress girl to be alone anymore. He wanted to show her that the world is not that cruel like she remembered it. That age is the past now along with the inquisitors and the witch hunters. They are walking in a peaceful world tonight. A world where love and peace reigns instead of war, hate and fear. Those times passed and a bring future is on the way.

"Aren't you tired? It was a really long day and you even hurt yourself by that figure skating performance." Sonic asked a little bit worried. Amy took a look at him but quickly looked away before she would have started blushing again.

"Y…yeah. My legs are pretty tired. Let's sit down on that bench over there. It gives us a pretty good view to town. I mean we can see the town from there." answered Amy and sat on the bench. Sonic let out a faint smile and sat down next to her, like that was exactly what he wanted.

"I…I just w…wanna say….um…thank you. I want to say thank you for bringing me to this wonderful trip. I felt like I was alive again." said Amy reluctantly. She felt that her heart started beating faster as Sonic slowly started moving closer to her. The young boy had some kind of feelings for her as well. Friendship or something deeper? Best friends? No, since they only know each other for a day. For being someone's best friend, you need to know the person for a long time. So is it love then? Even Sonic himself could not identify this feeling, though it is more close to love than to anything else.

The two of them started taking small moves toward each other on the bench. About half an hour later, they were close to each other. So close that their thigh snuggled each other gently giving a warm feeling for both of them. When noticing it, they quickly slid apart leaving some inch wide space between them. They were blushing, and were trying hard not to look at each other because they thought that it would be embarrassing if the other one notice that their face turned all red. Speaking of that it would be natural for the face to be red in the cold of the winter.

Then they looked up to the sky, both in the same time to see cold light rays appearing dancing back and forth on the dark canvas beautifully like a moving painting. The 'couple' starred at it amazed by it then Sonic smiled and said:

"Beautiful isn't it? I brought you here because this is the best place where you can see this. An old legend says that the light carries the souls of the ancients, who are looking over at us all the time. Once in a year, they make themselves visible to tell the descendants that they are here and not to worry because everything's good. Because they watch over them, and still protecting them from the afterlife."

He sighed then continued:  
"Magic surround us all. It have been a part of our lives for many years, especially during the ancient times. I don't even know why the new religion wanted to change everything. To get out the spirits from our lives. Agh….I'm just speaking nonsense again. Ignore what I said before" he said.

Amy just smiled and continued starring at the beautiful sight provided by the phenomenon on the dark sky. Watched as the young spirits in it were playing with each other and the adult were chatting with each other, like one big family. This reminded Amy a sad but true saying 'In death, everybody's equal'. The sorceress girl smiled and her eyes became wet from tears as she spotted her old master, who took care of her during childhood and gave a meaning to her life. She was grateful to her as well, because if she would have left her behind or if they would have never meet, she could not meet with Sonic. She felt that now he is the one who should she live for, someone that she can love truly from her heart. Someone who will protect her from anything. The girl moved closer to Sonic slowly wrapped her hand into his. She was thinking that this is the right time to push the feelings further. As Sonic turned his head towards her with a surprised look, she leaned forward and touched his warm lips with her cold one. They both felt something is warming them from the inside and some strange tickling around their belly. Sonic and Amy wrapped their arms around each other as they indulged in each other's soft lips. As the colorful lights faded into darkness again, fireworks started exploding in the sky as the people down there let the rockets to fly upwards, expressing their farewell to the ancestors.

Under this flashing lights, the couple expressed how they feel.


	13. Chapter 13

By the time the next day came the hectic days became dead quiet and the colorful lights were blown away by the morning wind leaving the scenery with a greyish tone to it. The morning wind blew through the empty streets, playing with a few remaining decorations from the previous night's celebration, raising them high up and when they reached their limits dropping them back on the ground.

In this calm, quiet yet dead-like morning, the young boy, Sonic woke up from his sweet dreams, where the girl with pale pink fur and ice blue colored irises was still dancing. They were dancing an everlasting dance, through time and space like inseparable azure birds. And under the exploding sky, as the world ended, their lips got pushed against each other, instinctively. Yes, every logical reasoning would be useless to describe these pictures. These were only his, and only his, pure, unfiltered emotions poured into strange, cryptic pictures that played in front of his eyes while he was sleeping. But as the morning rays of the weak sun shone through the cracks of the curtain, the images burned into ashes, and only the empty void remained.

He raised his head up from the soft grasp of the bedsheet and pillows and with those soggy eyes, he stared into the nothingness for a minute or two, his body waiting for his brain to send the commands to start his morning routine. However, this happened later than the usual. Stumbling upon a bucket of water in the middle of the room, he leaned above it. Putting the outer edges of his palms together, he sank his new creation into the dark abyss of the water. The ice cold water felt like a thousand knife stabbed his hands at once, then staying there for the rest of the time. Quickly, he raised his hand cone back up from the bucket and with the same rapid motion, he splashed water onto his face. He repeated the process a few more times before his brain could function properly.

"It looks like I stayed up for too long. Or I just got exhausted more than other time." He mumbled these sentences under his teeth, barely audible. Especially when he pressed the dry towel against his face to rub the icy water off of his face. It would be pretty foolish of him, walking around the place like this. He would catch a cold. Then he took a good long look in the mirror to see if he was presentable or not, in front of the girl in his dreams and of course, in front of his friends. The confirmation came from him in a form of a smile then after putting on his clothes, he proceeded out from the room to meet up with his friends. But what came after, is something that he did not expect this morning.

As he was exiting the room, he wanted to rush down the hallway as some kind of morning exercise, however as he turned his head, the body moved with it as well. This would not have been a problem in a case when there is nobody else was in the place. But there, in fact, someone, and the foolish boy crashed right into that one person that just happened to be out in the hallway with him. With a loud 'thud' noise, that certain individual fell on the wooden floor. However, there was something even funnier in this situation. That certain individual, who Sonic successfully tackled on the ground happened to be the beautiful girl from his dreams, Amy. You might ask how did she end up in the same house as Sonic? Well, that happened last night.

After the fireworks were over, it was pretty late and since none of the inns had any spare rooms to share, they had no other choice but to have her stay over at their place. Their place? Yes, all the boys were staying under one roof. They thought it was easier to manage everything if they share a slightly bigger house, and of course, managing the finances easier. If someone happened to be out of job, the rest of the people living under the same roof could help out the person until they found a new job and vise versa. And because of their choice for a house had many rooms on the second floor they were able to house Amy in one of them. Well, their choice landed on this particular house because they usually make friends easier than anyone else, mainly because of Sonic's quirky attitude. The other guys were a bit harder to approach, especially Shadow. He always had that strange negative aura lingering around him like a phantom.

As Amy's butt hit the floor hard, she closed her eyes, maybe on instinct to shield herself from the impact, though it made little, to no difference at all. It hurt her the same way. A painful moan left her body, then looked up at the quirky hedgehog, who had a nervous smile on his face.

"Great job. You fucked up the chance of getting closer to her." He thought. However, the girl was less annoyed than anyone would have expected. She let out a sigh then tried to stand up, before the boy lent her an assisting hand. She dusted her silky pajamas off them looked into Sonic's eyes. He could swear that her eyes emitted anger and annoyance, however the words that followed her stare stated something surprising. She was indeed, calm

"Look around before you wanna rush off to somewhere." She said then proceeded towards the staircase at the end of the long hallway. Sonic could have defended himself with the fact that the room was dim lit, however that look in her eyes and the strange warmth that enveloped his body when he averted his gaze at her, staggered him. He could barely understand the feeling, but it was something, but he could describe it as soft and tingly. Maybe he should see a doctor, however, the professionals would only laugh him off with these kinds of symptoms. Since this feeling was not even unpleasant, so doctors had no business with such a thing.

It took a little while to get himself out from under the spell of this strange kind of magic but this feeling came back as soon as he laid eyes on her on the first floor. She did not seem to notice the boy, slowly making his way downstairs. She was too distracted in the kitchen. Moving around in there like a pro, Sonic could not help his curiosity and proceeded to the busier part of the house. The girl swayed his body from one side to the other like a pro, having no problem even with multitasking. This went way beyond that typical, but mainly true sexist stereotype that 'Girls can easily multitask'. This kind of behavior was on the level of someone who works in the food industry, however working on the lower part of it, maybe in a small diner or something. Adjusting the heat, frying sunny side eggs and chopping up some meat along with vegetables. All in the matter of mere seconds. Sonic was looking around in the kitchen if he could catch a glimpse of moving-on-their-own tools or the essence of her working with her magical skills. However, none of them were present. The tools laid perfectly still as soon as the heedful hands let go of them and it was only logical, not using ice magic in a hot area. It would be canceled out automatically. Only high tier ice magic would be able to work in this kind of situation but it would result from not only the kitchen, but the whole town getting way below subzero temperature, bringing the new Ice Age to their repertoire. Moreover, Amy was not capable of using high tier magic. Maybe if her master was still alive… Maybe she could teach Amy to rule her mana circuits and maybe expanding it so she would be capable of using such devastating magic.

The hedgehog stayed by the door so that he will not be in the way of the professional. He managed to keep up with her only with his eyes. It was way easier than let's say, following her orders or trying to mimic her movements. He was more than impressed by her at this point.

"Wow, you sure would make a good housewife." He noted. Housewife? More like a semi-pro chef, he corrected himself in his thoughts. Amy did not seem to bet an eye for the compliment since she was too fixated to make everything perfect for breakfast.

"Count with the fact that I am several hundred years older than you and I was taught by a mage. Perfection and speed was everything she required." She explained when her work arrived into the completion stages. Opening the cupboard above her head, she quickly made a small ice cube under her feet to reach up for the plates and jumped off at the same speed before it could melt. Yes, not even mana could hold the ice together in this heat. The house felt closer to summer than winter thanks for the heating appliances in the house. Hot water was running through pipes that were heated by none other than the fireplace itself which was circulated in smaller, thin containers made out of stainless steel. The mastermind blacksmith of the town came up with this idea a couple of decades ago, sadly this mastermind is not alive anymore. He was an old fellow so it was expected to happen sooner or later. His grandson is leading the workshop with the same passion and innovation seeking eye as his grandad used to. The guy was a few years younger than Sonic and just like everyone in the same generation, they were friends. Actually, there were only a few rare cases in this town, in which people hated each other. Every generation depended on each other during childhood, and even during adulthood. If they had problems with each other, this stuff usually got sorted out during childhood. And the number of shared memories made even the toughest to conquer hearts, soft. This could be considered as a form of magic as well as Amy's elemental spells.

Amy handed the plates to the hedgehog boy, who was lazing around at the end of the kitchen.

"I would like you to make the table since you are awake. I take care of the serving of the food in the meantime. Deal?" She did not expect any type of answer to her statements, she rather expected Sonic to follow them. Of course not like she was too bossy or anything. She only had a genuine dislike for imperfection, and she had her hands full with the food.

The hedgehog boy shrugged with a quirky smile on his face and as he was told, he took out the plates to the dining table. Not long after, the rest of the gang came down too and at the same time, Amy finished setting the food on each, carefully organized plates. When it was right about time to have breakfast, nobody really knew where to start. The amount of prepared food was overwhelming, even for the chef. With an almost instinctive, non-verbal agreement, they decided to start with something light on the repertoire.

As the feast slowly came to an end, the pink girl looked at the satisfied faces of her fellow housemates. She felt satisfied as well since in her mind, at least she could pay back for the generosity of the boys. Last night's experience was really dear to her. The farewell to the ancestors, the fireworks, and that fantastic, adrenaline pumping figure skating competition. She could not be more thankful to fate, that it connected the boys' road to hers. Even if it was temporary. She finally made up her mind about giving up on her isolation, and though she did not really know how but she wanted to live a normal life again, as a fellow citizen. To feel herself alive again.

However, before she could ask for any kind of advice from the boys, a knock could be heard on the door. Sonic jumped up to answer it. There stood a small, orange fox with two tails. Looking at him, it was pretty hard to determine his correct age. Maybe he was a few years younger than Sonic. Amy could have bet on the three years of age difference with confidence.

"Guys, you need to come to the town square." The fox's voice was quivering with concern and leaving their breakfast behind, they set out to investigate.


	14. Chapter 14

The square was jam-packed with people from the whole town, gathering like livestock for slaughter, admiring the fancy bunch on the erected podium. Only one person stood out from the bunch on the wooden platform. Someone with a proud and determined look on his face, his eyes almost physically emitted arrogance and perfectionism. He stood among the black, long coated people, who looked eerily identical to each other. Same long, black coat, same haircut with different colors from the darker palette of the color wheel. The pose they were standing in suggested order and law. Straight face, and a sharp gaze forward. They were clearly not from around, not even from the North. They must have come from the known world's inner regions. Unlike the rest, the one who stood out wore a white long coat and crimson hat that had a ridiculously huge flange. This was a common outfit among high ranked individuals in the religion. However, the emblem they wore, was slightly different from the original. Maybe they were part of a special underground association supervised by the church itself or maybe they were just an overzealous bunch who just wanted to preach their beliefs like many before. But if that was the case, only a few people would be here to listen to their nonsense. Instead, according to Sonic's sight, they gathered the majority of the town. He was more than impressed. However, this also meant that these strange people were an incredible force to reckon with or directly related to the church, governing in the center of the continent, ruling beside the king.

Rumors say that the king got an astronomical lot of money from the church for his campaign against the eastern countries to annex them into the already existing union with the north and west. If he succeeds, the church will have the new emperor around its finger and even more, people to pay the "Tithe". His Holiness is not a dumb and lot individual…

Sonic and Amy stuck close to each other while the others stayed nearby. Since the hedgehog boy heard the age-old story that the sorcerer girl told him about the relationship between them and the holy people of the church, he was afraid to leave her alone. A couple of minutes earlier, the fox boy explained the situation to the rest of them. He told them the gathered information from the town folk, about the possible intentions of the strangers. Tails told them about the rumors of a sorceress girl roaming around the town. Ever since that world left the fox's mouth, Sonic could not help but to stay on edge, not letting her go anywhere where he cannot reach. Or even too far from him. He was unsure whether Amy could protect herself if it comes down to fighting. Speaking the truth, he was not even sure if his strength was enough to protect her from those people. They were way taller and wider than him, making them look more like soldiers than messengers of God. A humble man would not be enough to tackle even one of those golems down. But on the flipside, it was a piece of cake to take down trained people with little to no sweat, accumulated the hedgehog boy from what vague idea his sight could provide him.

The man with a red hat took a few steps forward and looked around, measuring the people standing around before a long sigh left his mouth. His breathing became more rapid and his chest was rising and falling under the thick coat. Steam left his body, with the heat he emitted from the gaping abyss of his organ. Sonic raised an eyebrow for what he had seen but he dismissed it as anxiety. However, this statement of his came down crumbling as the strange man looked up from the wooden platform, into the crowd below his feet. His facial expression emitted courage and dedication, his most significant distinctive feature above all the fellow bishops. He raised his hand up to his face and clenched his fist around the symbol of the church and the Lord, that he wore as a protection charm. The metal slowly touched with the flesh, as he silently praised the One and Only, that he is with the man. He always thought that this amount of courage is the aid of God. No, he rather knew that he was aided by God. Always feeling like he was born to do something big. That is why he decided to become a priest, and slowly work his way up to the top. To change the religion's ill deeds. To clear not only the church but the whole world from things that the Almighty would not seem to like. "How would such deeds be wrong?" he always thought. He just wants to spread the word and the love of God to every single individual in the world. Yes, his ultimate goal was a kind of power where he can form the world as the One Above originally wanted to.

Mustering up his gift from God, the courage inside his heart and the determination, he reached out to the crowd with his voice.

"Brothers and sisters of this humble town of the North. I came to you, not in regards of strengthening your fate in the Creator. However, I came here to plea for your help." He took another long breath in through his mouth, which was fairly audible among the crown.

People already began murmuring possible rumors about the bishop's mental health, some people signaling these with spinning their index finger around next to their heads, making fun of him. Sonic could not take this so lightly though. He kept the holy people in his eyesight at all time while crossing his arms in front of his chest, to keep his racing heart from bursting out from there. He furrowed his eyebrows while the holy man resumed his speech.

"Humble citizens of the Holy Union. I turn to you in regards to this matter. I beg you to help to find the foul witch that was a thorn in God's side. Do so, and I can ensure, your reward will not come in short." Each word became more and more silent, ensuring that they suggested the right message. It was a request, not an order. Because he depended on the people of the city, he could not order everyone around. He could have made an interrogation with the force he brought with himself, however, he did not see this as a walkable road. God's message to people was love. Every form of violence is forbidden among the brothers and sisters of the church as well as the believers. The only form of violence that was justified and supported by the One Above, is when a person or a group made fun or mocked the Creator or the dogma he and his followers set up all those years ago. In this case paganism and the worship of the old gods. Sorcery, as the toying with the power of the Almighty, was strictly forbidden. And back in Amy's time, could result in execution linked together with humiliation.

The people of the town began to murmur to each other, which broke the silence that fell on the audience. The thrill of passion hit its head up in every third individual in a form of chills and little bumps forming on their limbs. The speech was indeed a short one and was more like plea rather than a feverish exclaim, however, this passion snuck back into his voice once in a while, waving towards the awning lot and the cloudy, greyish sky. And in a final attempt of convincing the people before him to join his side in this little conquest against heresy, he even fell on his knees that on Sonic could not help but break out in a silent chuckle occasionally letting out a barfing like sound. Like when a kid swells up its mouth with air and you gently slap them. Luckily for him, it was not audible enough to reach the holy man's ears. He was far from someone who could be taken lightly by anyone. Always making sure that God's fist strikes down to the heretic and the one who ridicules the One Above All. Though Sonic knew about this as much as a fly would know about quantum physics. He furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed them in frustration and boredom, groping on Amy's wrists. He eventually turned around dragging the wondering girl with him.

"Come on. We heard enough of his bullshit today. Maybe I give his thought a consideration tomorrow" Sonic said with the final part said with noticeable sarcasm. "This dude is just delusional. Like anyone would turn you into these monsters for a small fortune." He added. It was almost a fact that in this town, everyone would have loved any type of passive income since the last harvest was not as good as expected because of the massive rain and the early winter. This year the town relied massively on the arriving merchants from all over the continent and the same trade routes to get enough food on everyone's table. The importing cut away a good portion of the residents' wallet though 'Everything for survival.'. Or as most people claimed here.

However, despite the dire need for money and goods, nobody would strip down their dignity to hand the pink hedgehog girl in. It was more likely a pressure coming from each other. Standing out and tell information about the girl in public would be an extremely risky task since people would most likely exile the greedy one from the community, thus forcing him/her to leave town in a passive-aggressive way. But there was something funny in this situation. Nobody knew what this so-called heretic mage looks like so even if there were people who were willing to stray away from the light of dignity could not give any information to the holy men.

The bishop slowly got up from his knees and pulled the laughably big hat into his head in order to cover his wet eyes from public view. The fact was that he pumped himself up so much with his passionate plea, he became so touched that he shed tears of joy on behalf of everyone in the town. What a pompous man one would think. So full of himself that he even cried after his own speech. It was a bad habit of his, that he worked on to erase from existence with little to no luck.

Turning around, he wiped off the huge tears that gathered on the outer side of his eyes. Then turning around, he lowered his upper body to a bow without even uttering any words. It looked like the freak show was over. The holy men walked down from the wooden podium back down to where the major was standing. Sonic could only make out a few words in regards to their accommodation. The inns were still jam-packed with people. The process of them going back to their own smaller town, villages and on the very southern side, to their farm was expected to begin later this day. The sun barely rose up from its slumber and these fancy pants high-rank men were pushing their madness on everyone. People were less welcoming this early to any crazy ideas that popped out from people's head all around the world since it interrupted their morning routine, essential for the 'wake up process'. As a result, the crown scattered fairly quickly, cursing the bishop and his henchmen to the seven hells and back. Almost an hour spent on his crazy speech and the waiting. They have found it more than ridiculous.

Sonic wiggled closer and closer to the bishop and the major, just to overhear where are they going to stay and for how long.

"I am sorry Major. I got a little bit 'hyped up' as the youngsters these days would say." Apologized for the man with a red hat in an affable voice. Higher tones with a rhythmic ringing to it that is good for one's hearing. Talk had a sort of magical effect on most people, helping to bend their choices around the caster's will. Though this was not considered to be legit mage craft since anyone could master this sort of skill in the matter of a few weeks and did not require the implication of mana. However, charisma was something that could easily be the replacement of mana.

While speaking, the bishop handed over a papyrus to be nailed to one of the bulletin board.

"A wanted poster? Or details?" the paranoid questions raced through the young hedgehog's mind from synapse to synapse which urged his body to take actions against it. Not only that but these kinds of thoughts pumped adrenaline into his blood flow. Despite the extreme cold, he did not feel the icy wind that blew through the small holes where the outfit pieces met with each other. In fact, he was sweating. His eyes grew wide and the pace of his breathing became more rapid. His hand tightened into a fist then became loose again. As soon as the man chosen to do the sacred task of informing the townsfolk about the details that the man with the ridiculous hat failed to do. With a head bow and a 'Yes, your excellency' the priest began his move towards the inn of the town, where the news got usually nailed.

Sonic did not hesitate even a second. Letting go of Amy's arm, he pushed his way through the majority of the crowd and followed the trail of the holy man. He could not let them do whatever they want. At this rate, they are going to find Amy and take them away. Doing god knows what to her in the capital. The most humane thing would be a fast execution but he was more than afraid of that would only be the icing on the cake. Vague, tattered memories from his school flashed in and out of his mind, as he was turning the pages forward in his history book. It stated that the heretics were got brutally tortured before. Dunking underwater in a cage, stretching the body to its absolute limits on a rack. Then most likely being burned alive.

It was a fate that he could not let happen to such a 'young' girl. He wants to show so much to her. He wants to do so many things with her.

His eyes darkened as he pulled his cap into his head in order to hide his face as he passed the remaining holy men and the major. The distance between the cat and the mouse shortened due to the cat getting too eager to jump on the prey. However, Sonic did not take the last turn that leads to the inn. Instead, he decided to wait for the priest to do his job then getting into action himself. Leaning against the wall of the house, he waited for a while occasionally taking careful peeks from the corner then immediately getting back to his original position. With his hand, that was further from the corner, he began tapping on the wall impatiently, faster and faster with each passing second. As he was panting, thick steam left his boiling body and occasionally wiggled his tongue around on her lips to replenish the moisture on them. Even as little as dry lips made him boil with rage at this point.

When the man left the flyer on the board, Sonic quickly dashed over to it barely waiting for the holy man to leave the place. Though he paid attention not to look too suspicious when he passes beside him. His heart was racing and sweat broke out on his forehead yet again, only to be dried off by the gentle icy breeze. Reaching out with his fingers to the poster, he halted the movement.

"Wait. If I rip it off they are just going to put on another one. Or worse. They are going to find the one who is responsible for taking these flyers off…. And even that if I take them down, they will suspect that Amy is here."

Time stood still in the hedgehog's mind. Something that rarely happens. He is usually eager to do anything that is in his mind. However, the stakes were too high with this action. If he takes it down, they will surely get their hands busy with looking for the hedgehog girl even more. Impulses were rushing to everywhere in his mind, looking for a solution to this crisis. There had to be something that they can do for her. No. What he can do for her. He cannot expect his friends to help in this matter. He was the one who brought Amy here, he was the one who insisted on reintroducing her to the new, more calm society of this land. The boy never expected that such people like His Holiness still exist. Especially in this high position. The era of craze and madness was long over. Right?

Sonic slid his fingers down from the poster then turned around to make his way back to the gang.


End file.
